


love dies with time, but you'll be damned if it doesn't live too.

by jackstanifold



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, POV Second Person, Time Travel, Web Series: Tales from the SMP, idk man i just really like them and want more tftsmp fics, this one is dedicated to raven on tumblr dot com fuck you, uhhhhh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 07:48:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29468241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jackstanifold/pseuds/jackstanifold
Summary: you have been wandering these halls for some time.(second person karlnapity angst and fluff for the homies)
Relationships: Alexis | Quackity/Karl Jacobs/Sapnap
Comments: 19
Kudos: 99





	love dies with time, but you'll be damned if it doesn't live too.

**Author's Note:**

> god they
> 
> i care them sm

Cornelius stands outside your house. 

“Hey.”

“Hello,” He responds, with a hum. “How are you?”

“Do you need something?” You already know the answer. He doesn’t visit people for no reason. 

“I want you to tell me something.”

“Yeah?”

His eyes are so green. You wonder if Dream’s eyes are that vibrant under his mask.

“You time travel. Will I always be alone?”

You freeze. “Time travel? Me?”

He chuckles at your reaction. “I’m not dumb, I can see it. I’m immortal, I’ve met millions of people who wander the realm of time. None who seemed to know me.”

You hesitate. Telling him this could ruin everything, but…

“No, you won’t be alone forever. Someday, you’ll find your people. The Dream Team, they call you.”

He hums, running a hand through his hair. “Ok. Thank you, my friend.”

“Of course.”

_ you walk the marble white halls, the gleam of the polished floor nearly blinding. there’s no one here. there’s never anyone here, just you, alone with your thoughts. _

_ you miss home. _

“Isaac…” Cletus sounds nervous, his eyes scanning the glass dome that makes up the ceiling, the surface of the water glittering far above you. You think absently how beautiful Alex is, even in another life, even when he doesn’t remember you.

“Yeah?”

“I don’t… I don’t like this.”

“It’ll be okay,” Charles says. “The glass is strong, look.”

He taps the glass, and Benji wrinkles his nose. “Oh… maybe don’t do that.”

You smile gently at them. “Hey, I’m sure it’ll be fine. It’s kinda pretty, right?”

Charles nodded, smiling happily. “Yeah, I like it!”

In the years you’ve spent living with the three of them, it was still odd to see Ranboo’s face with so much confidence, or Bad’s face so impatient, or Alex’s with such a serious expression.

“Hey, Isaac? Ben? Charlie?” Cletus asks, gaze turned upwards, towards the branches of the tree in the center of the room. “You guys see that?”

You peer upwards as well, squinting at the foliage. “What?”

“Oh! I see it,” Benji gasps, his face lighting up. “The chest?”

You see it too now, high in the branches, nestled in the leaves. You feel Cletus’ hand grab yours, and you look at him in concern. “Cleet?”

“I’m gonna go up and get it.”

You frown. “No, that’s way too high up. If you fall-”

“Then I won’t fall,” He smiles reassuringly, and he has all his teeth, and  _ this isn’t Alex _ . “I’m a good climber.”

You fight down the urge to tell him that he normally isn’t, in all your other lives together, he’d been a terrible climber, instead just nodding. Benji claps a hand against his shoulder encouragingly, and Charles smiles at him.

He places one hand on the trunk, peers upward, glances back at you, once, and then he begins to move. 

He’s patient, slow, his hands seeking out crevices in the wood you can’t even see from the ground, scaling the tree with ease. You find yourself holding your breath, and force the air from your lungs, feeling Benji grab onto your sleeve nervously.

At one point, Cletus’ foot slips and Charles squeeks behind you, but he regains his footing, and continues.

It probably only takes ten minutes for him to reach the chest, but it feels like so much longer.

There’s a silence before he laughs. “It’s another fucking book!”

You chuckle, nervously, watching him brace himself in the tree, opening the book carefully and looking at the first page. “What’s it say?”

He opens his mouth to respond, just as a figure drops down onto his branch, and pulls out a lighter.

Your first love goes up in flames.

_ the halls are growing emptier, you think, although you’re not sure how that’s possible. the whole castle seems to echo with silence, even your cries for attention are empty, almost like you never said anything in the first place. _

_ maybe you didn’t. _

“Sir Jacobs,” Billiam smiles benevolently at you as you look up with a start. “You seem distracted.”

“Oh, sorry,” You try for a reassuring smile. “Just…”

He raises an eyebrow, following your gaze. “Ah… James…”

You blink. “Uh, pardon?”

He laughs, gently, a softer version of Technoblade’s. “I’ve noticed how you look at him. He’s a fine man, is he not? I myself am uninterested in romance, but if I had to pick a partner, he’d be up in the list.”

You look across to where James is sitting, quietly, and you feel your heart tug. His hair is longer than Sapnap’s falling around his shoulders in soft black waves instead of pulled up with a ratty cloth. His shirt is open to reveal his chest and you find it very hard not to stare. He looks so lonely, so sad, empty of the fire that once made him roar, and you find yourself saddened as well.

“Do you… do you think he’d be interested in me?” You ask, although you don’t really need to. In all your lives, the three of you found each other, one way or another.

“Well,” Billiam hums. “I am not sure why he wouldn’t be.”

You let out a non-committal noise. Techno had never been any good at romantic advice, you weren’t really expecting much from him.

Back in the main timeline, you’d never really gotten the chance to speak to him, face to face, always on opposite sides of wars, always surrounded by bloodshed and misery.

“Go talk to him.” Billiam says, but it sounds more like a command than a suggestion. 

The butler is glancing between you and James, so you take the opportunity to draw some words from him. 

“Butler, what do you think?”

The butler glances at his master, who nods, before speaking. “I think you should go for it, sir.”

“Mmm. Ok. I’ll shoot my shot.” You steel yourself, rolling your shoulder back and taking in a deep breath.

Suddenly, the lights flicker out.

Your second love dies to the blade.

_ it smells odd. like fresh air, but more. air that had never been breathed before, air made just for you. the breeze is gentle, the temperature is just right, and you sit on a swing in the garden, listening to the birds sing. _

_ it’s nice out here. _

Your fourth love drops dead with a bang.

“No!” You gasp, stepping forward, but Mason beats you to him. 

“JACK,” He screams, collapsing beside his partner. “Jack, you son of a bitch, come back,” His eyes, black as ever, fill with tears, and rage, and he pulls Jack’s body to his chest. “Please…”

Crops turns, nods to you, then walks away, into town.

You try not to imagine Robin walking beside him.

John shifts at your side. “Well… I guess it’s my turn…”

“No,” You say, a hint of desperation in your voice. “Ran- John. Let him mourn for a bit, he just lost his two closest friends.”

You weren’t lying about that. Connor’s body lay limply a few yards away. You can’t remember his name, in this timeline, if he’d been given one, and you couldn’t help but think that was poetic, more than anything.

Even in the main timeline, he hadn’t been much of an anybody, just the homeless guy, just Schlatt’s old friend, just the nice man who let everyone walk all over him.

This was the first timeline you’d ever seen him in.

Unfortunately, Mason didn’t seem interested in mourning, standing almost immediately and pulling his gun out.

“Alright. Which of you is goin’ against me.”

John steps forward, his hands shaking minutely, but his face stone still. “I am.”

You watch him walk down, back to back with your lover, and then they begin to move.

Alex had never been a good shot. 

Sapnap was incredible.

At the count of three, he wheels around, raises his gun, and unloads a shot, right in John’s forehead.

You scream, lurching forward, but Sheriff Thomson grabs your shoulder, holding you back.

“Now ain't the time for that, Karl.”

You hesitate, watching Mason, your beloved, your soulmate, laugh as William cradles the young lifeless body of the first person you befriended in this hell of a town, and you take in a breath. “No, Sheriff. It is the time.”

Mason looks up as you approach him, dark eyes sparkling in glee. Behind him, Jack’s body slumps against the wall, and you force yourself not to look.

“You just killed a kid.”

His smile fades a bit, but he shrugs. “Shouldn’ta gone against me.”

You stare at him unblinkingly. “Ok. Fine. I’m going to avenge him.”

“You…” He hesitates. “Alright.”

Sapnap was a good shot.

But you’re better.

Your bullet catches him in the chest, sending him reeling. He falls back, and faintly, you hear Percy let out a whoop, hear Micheal laugh in relief, but all you can see is Sapnap fall to the ground. 

You move forward, sitting beside him, pulling his head into your lap.

“Sorry.” You mutter.

“‘Salright.” He responds.

Your fourth love dies in your arms.

_ there’s someone here. it’s you. why are you here? the book says not to stray from the path. is that what happened? did you stray? why are you here? what’s going on? _

_ you can’t breathe. _

“Karl?” 

You blink awake, your back and neck sore from dozing off slouched against the wall.

“Karl, are you in here?”

You stand, quickly, almost too quickly, stumbling forward and barely catching yourself on the bedframe. “Oh, for honk’s sake…”

“Karl, I heard that, I’m coming in.”

The door swings open and a shadowy figure stands there.

You blink at the sudden light, raising a hand to shield your eyes from the brightness pouring into your room.

“Oh, fucking hell, Karl.”

They move across your room, ripping open the blinds and you yelp, now using both hands to cover your eyes. How long have you been in here, in the dark? The person grabs your hands, gently pulling them away from your face, and you blink at them until you can make out their face.

James

Mason

“Sapnap?”

He smiles at you. “Yeah, hey man.”

“Oh,” You’re back in the main timeline. The one where all three of you are together. The one where you don’t have to lie about where you came from, what you’ve done. “Hi.”

He laughs at that, a deep, rumbly sound, and you smile. “Hey sunshine. You’ve been in here for a couple days, Alex and I are getting worried.”

You press your face into his shirt. It smells like smoke and fresh chopped wood. “Mmm… can we go out?”

“Like, on a date?”

“Yeah?”

He laughs again. “Ok. The three of us, picnic date, in L’Manhole.”

You snort, shoving him a bit. “You’re morbid.”

“Hey, that was funny.”

“What the fuck are you guys doing in here, screwing?”

Cletus

Jack

You turn to Alex, smiling at him. “Hi, baby.”

He blinks. “Oh. Uh, hey sweet cheeks, are you okay?”

“Never better,” You say, before looping an arm around Sapnap’s waist. “Let’s get out of here.”

Your fiances grin at you, although they still look worried. You don’t care much, you want to enjoy this as much as you can.

This is a good time to be alive, you think.

**Author's Note:**

> happy valentine's ig


End file.
